Electronic space unit humidifier



May 12, 1953 C. V. RUNKLE ELECTRONIC SPACE UNIT HUMIDI FIER Filed Feb. 21 1951 Fly 5 INVENTOR. CHARLES K RUN/(LE Patented May 12, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ELECTRONIC SPACE UN'iT HUMIDIFIER Charles V. Runkle, Detroit, Mich.

Application February 21, E51, serial No. 212,143

Claims. I 1

This invention relates to humidiiy'ing devices and particular reference to a device for addii'ig hot gaseous moisture to the air in a home, oilice or other place of business, or the like.

The object of the invention is to provide a space unit humidifier which employs a rocess such as di closed in U. S. Patent No. 2,451,594, issued to G. W. Watson.

Another object of the invention is to generally improve space unit humidifying devices and to provide a device of that character which is simple' in c'or'is'tmction, economical to manufacture, and efiicient in use.

Another object of th invention is to provide a device which produces a hot gaseous vapor which thoroughly mixes with the air in a room without the necesity of using fans or other mixiiig' apparatus.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of the character indicated which is constructed and arranged to produce a practically invisible vapor which adds moisture to the air without producing any semblance of free moisture when the room temperature is at 60 F. or above.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device which will humidity the air iii a closed space and at the same time add a perceptible amount of B. t.- ul's to the air, while the device is" in operation.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages or the inveiitiori will become more apparent as the description proceeds, reference being made from time to time to the accompanying drawing forming part of the within disclosure in which drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a device embodymg the invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional View taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

In' Pater-it No.- 2,451,594 issued to Watson he disclosed the process of vaporizing liquid by inserting a pair of spaced electrodes in the surface of the liquid, applying unlike potentials to the electrodes,- ahd adjusting the spacing be tween the electrodes to a distance greater that the capillary spacing for the liquid and withir i the distance that can be bridged by" a filth or the liquid.

In the deviceher'ein disclosed I intend to ap" ply the principle disclosed in that patent but I have improved the structure and ariatig'ei'hflt of the apparatus so that the principle can be utilized in a no pressure space unit humidifier.

Referring now more particularly to the drawiiigs, it will be understood that in the embodi merit herein disclosed the reference character 1 indicates the case or housing for the working parts of the device. The case 1 is preferably made of a non-corrosive plastic riiaterial and formed with a bottom 8, side Walls 9, end Walls Hi, top H and a lid I? which iS hix'ig'ed as at E3. The case i is provided with a water tight partition i l, which divides the" case into a large compartment 'i-A and a smaller compartment 1-13. The compartment- LA is water tight and serves as a reservoir for a fire-determined amount of water, which istobe vaporized. The smaller compartment l i-3" houses the principal working parts of the device, which are more particularly described hereafter.

The principal working parts of the device include' a generator 15, a generator tray i6, a float valve (I and an adjusting valve 18. The generator 5 comprises a rectangular box-like structiire having sidewalls -9 and 2G, eiid walls 2! and and a to cover member 23, all of which are preferably formed of a nen eorrosive plastic materiai similar to the material of which the case I is made. The end wall 21 is provided with an opeiiirig 21A to permit Water to e'iitei the geiif erat'or lfiirorii the tray iii. The gerierator i5 rests on the generator tray f3 and is held to the t-OI J" nifllbel H by a spacer 26 which iS' adapted to bear against the top cover 23 of the generator.

Secured to the front wail I Q by means of stream ed brass members 25 and 25' is a copper" plate 2'5 which forms one of the electrodes of the genera-tor. A second copper plate 28 is secured to the rear wan 2a of the generator by means of the threaded elements 29 ahd 38. The electrodes 2'! and 21? are preferably held in predetermined spaced relation by a non conduotive element or spacer 3|.

It will be noted that the electrode 21 has one or more out out portions 3-: formed along the lower edge thereof, this reduee's the" surface area of the electrode 2'? and its resultiiig potential, The electrodes 2? and 28 are respectively connected to the leads E3 ahd 34* to a; volt circuit through the plug 35. Water enters"- the generator tray It from the reservoir 7 A through the filler pipe The flow of water is centrolled by the control valve l8, which may be remotely coatroiied by means of the axially rotatable rod 31". a pie-determined level. of water is mainraises in the tray H? by means of a float valve H; Wl'iidh COIltI'Olld by the float T -A.

order to prevent the electric current from flowing from the generator l5, through the water line 36, I provide a novel circuit breaker, or a current breaker. The base of the current breaker is a cylindrical member 38, which is preferably made of a current insulating material such as the case I is made of and has a passage way therein. The water feed line 36 is connected to the bottom of the passage way 40 in the cylindrical member 33. The top of the passage way it is adapted to be closed by a rubber cup member 39, which is similar in shape to a conventional vacuum cup. The reduced passage way 40 extending through the center of member 38 connects with the water line 36, so that when the rubber cup 39 is forced over the end of the cylindrical member 38, the water in the passage way 40 and the water line 3% is moved leaving an air gap in the upper part of the narrow passage way 40 in the cylindrical member 38. The air gap prevents any current leaking from the water in the line 36, into the water in the main reservoir LA, which current might tend to shock anyone who would come in contact with the main body of water in the reservoir LA. The rubber cup 39 which closes the end of the current breaker 38 is mounted at the end of a rocker arm 45 which is pivotally mounted in a yoke d2 which is preferably cemented to the partition I l. The rocker arm 4! is connected to a rod 33 which is slidably mounted in a bracket M which is also cemented to the partition M. The upper end of the rod 43 rides against the under face of the hinged lid 52, and is normally urged downwardly thereby. A spring 45 is positioned between the lower leg of the bracket 44 and a pin it which extends through the rod 43, and normally urges the rod 43 upwardly. The lid i2 is locked in position by means of a rotatable locking arm 4'! which engages a lip 48 comprising part of the bracket M, which extends through a cut out formed in the upper member H of the casing. The locking arm M is adapted to be rotated by means of a knurled knob 49. When the hinged lid I2 is closed it urges the rod d3 downwardly, this in turn rocks the arm 4| lifting the rubber cup 3Q from the current breaker 38, allowing the water to enter the passage way 40 and the water line 36. On the other hand when the lid I2 is lifted the rod 43 is urged upwardly under the influence of the spring 45, this rocks the arm 4! downwardly causing the rubber cup 39 to close the passage way 1a: through the current breaker 38. A water stack 51B is connected to the water line 36 and extends upwardly on the inside of the compartment 'I-B, this permits the water to rise in the stack 50 when the rubber cup 39 closes the end of the member 38. This is necessary to accommodate the water backed up in the line 36 by the cup 39 when either of the valves I! or i8 are closed.

The vapor generated in the generator escapes to atmosphere through the vapor outlet 5 I.

The device functions as follows:

The water reservoir ll-A is first filled with water, preferably a water free from impurity. The lid i2 is closed and locked in a closed position, and when the lid I2 is closed the rocker arm :3! lifts the rubber cup 39 from the member 38 permitting water to enter the line 35. The control valve I8 is then opened permitting the water to flow through it and through the float valve ll into the generator tray it. When the water in the tray l6 reaches the desired depth the float valve [1 shuts off the flow of water under the influence of the float l'l-A. The water level in the generator tray 16 is set so that the electrodes El and 28 will be partly submerged. The electrical plug 35 is then connected with a suitable source of volt electricity and the device begins to function. Upon passage of the current across the surface of the liquid, films of the liquid immediately commence to rise in rapid succession. The films bridge the space between the electrodes 2? and 28 and are arched upwardly. The current flows through the films until the latter become vaporized. Both of the electrodes become activated for a distance of several inches above the liquid level. The electrodes are of such low resistance as to be practically unheated by the flow of current through them. As the current flows through the electrodes and the films, the films become vaporized and rise through the interior of the generator l5 and are discharged into the atmosphere through the vapor discharge outlet ii I. The body of the liquid in the tray I6 remains cool so that the vaporization does not depend on heating any of the mass of liquid as in the case of the usual water humidifier. The vapor emanating from the discharge outlet 5! is practically invisible and readily mixes with the air in the room.

When the room temperature is above 60 F. there will be no release of free moisture as in the case of most humidifying devices. By the same token the vapor will add an appreciable number of B. t. u.s to the air in the room and will not reduce the air temperature as in the case of conventional humidifying devices. The device will continue to function in the manner indicated so long as water is maintained in the reservoir and the current is applied to the electrodes of the generator.

Having described my invention what I claim and desireto secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a device of the character described in combination, a housing of non-conductive material, a partition in said housing dividing said housing into a liquid reservoir compartment and a second smaller compartment, an electric vapor generator in said second compartment having means for passing an electric current through films of liquid formed in said generator, a tray in said second compartment for supplying liquid to said generator, adjustable means for controlling the flow of liquid from said reservoir to said tray, and a current breaker comprising a non-conductive element having a restricted bore, with a movable compressible cap, arranged in the liquid flow line to prevent the passage of current into the liquid in said reservoir.

2. In a device of the character described in combination, a housing of non-conductive material, a partition in said housing dividing said housing into a liquid reservoir compartment and a second smaller compartment, an electric vapor generator in said second compartment, having means for passing an electric current through films of liquid formed in said generator, a tray in said second compartment for supplying liquid to said generator, adjustable means for controlling the flow of liquid from said reservoir to said tray, and a current breaker arranged to prevent the flow of current into the liquid in said reservoir, said current breaker comprising a non-conductive element having a liquid passage way therein, in communication with said tray and a flexible non-conductive member forclosing one end of said passage way and dislodging a portion of the liquid therefrom.

- 3. In a device of the character described in combination, a housing of non-conductive material, a partition in said housing dividing said housing into a liquid reservoir compartment and a second smaller compartment, an electric vapor generator in said second compartment, having means for passing an electric current through films of liquid formed in said generator, a tray in said second compartment for supplying liquid to said generator, adjustable means for controlling the iiow of liquid from said reservoir to said tray, and a current breaker arranged to prevent the flow of current into the liquid in said reservoir, said current breaker comprising a nonconductive element having a liquid passage way therein, in communication with said tray and a flexible non-conductive member for closing one end of said passage way and dislodging a. portion of the liquid therefrom, and means operable from the exterior of said reservoir for opening and closing said current breaker.

4. In a device of the character described in combination, a housing of non-conductive material, a partition in said housing dividing said housing into a liquid reservoir compartment and a second smaller compartment, an electric vapor generator in said second compartment, having means for passing an electric current through films of liquid formed in said generator, a tray in said second compartment for supplying liquid to said generator, adjustable means for controlling the flow of liquid from said reservoir to said tray, and a current breaker arranged to prevent the flow of current into the liquid in said reservoir, said current breaker comprising a nonconductive element having a liquid passage way therein, in communication with said tray and a flexible non-conductive member for closing one end of said passage way and dislodging a portion of the liquid therefrom, a cover on said reservoir, and means operated by said cover for opening and closing said current breaker.

5. In a device of the character described in combination, a housing of non-conductive material, a partition in said housing dividing said housing into a liquid reservoir compartment and a second smaller compartment, an electric vapor generator in said second compartment, having means for passing an electric current through films of liquid formed in said generator, a tray in said second compartment for supplying liquid to said generator, adjustable means for controlling the fiow of liquid from said reservoir to said tray, and a current breaker arranged to prevent the flow of current into the liquid in said reservoir, said current breaker comprising a nonconductive element having a liquid passage way therein, in communication with said tray, a flexible non-conductive member for closing one end of said passage way and dislodging a portion of the liquid therefrom, a liquid tube connecting said passage way with said tray and a liquid stack connected to said tube between said current breaker and said tray.

CHARLES V. RUNKLE.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,000,628 White May 7, 1935 2,049,899 Edelman Aug. 4, 1936 2,124,482 Blair July 19, 1938 2,451,594 Watson Oct. 19, 1948 

